Cinnamon rolls, laser tag and beans

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We started this morning with a platter of homemade cinnamon rolls which is always a magnificent way to start anything. Especially once you slather them with cream cheese glaze.

Then to laser tag for several hours, a Mexican-Salvadoran taqueria and finally home to spend a lazy'ish afternoon.

Tonight for dinner? Chile verde and some incredible stewed beans. I bought a bag of dried cicerchia, fava chickpeas, at an Italian spot in Easton, MD, last summer, and today before we left for laser tag had the foresight to put them up to soak. I think I knew I would not make it to the market later, even though I really need to go.

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In any case, when I bought these, I loved both the look of them -like flat chickpea pebbles smoothed by years of waves washing over them- as well as the promise of cooking them slowly with lots of olive oil and herbs. Like a meatless cassoulet of sorts.

cicerchia (alimentipedia.it)

So this evening, I boiled them (with bay leaves, allspice berries and salt) until nearly tender and then drained them while my braiser of olive oil and lots of garlic heated gently on the stove. I poured the drained cicerchia and herbs into that warm oil, added more oil and some chicken broth, salt and pepper, a bit of fresh rosemary and sage and cooked it in a 350 oven for an hour or maybe more.

These were truly outstanding: creamy but not mushy, complexly flavored but subtly so, filling in a delightful, hearty way, and really just quite delicious.

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Mio nipote e qui; dessert

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Aah, my darling nephew (mio nipote; and also my fabulous sister and her fabulous husband) arrived this afternoon. We are all so happy to see them, and they us. I made a scrumptious dinner of salad and that seemingly omnipresent caramelized shallot, cabbage and tasso tart; we have no leftovers so I'll take that as an affirmative that all was well-liked.

I also wanted to mention the random dessert I made last night which was both a result of a thorough freezer cleaning and delicious: warm biscuits with a sour cherry-currant compote all drizzled with cream. Outstanding!

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Why the thorough freezer clean you might ask? Well because yesterday, while Ol was home sick and I was rummaging through the fridge looking for something that might constitute lunch, I discovered an insidious black mold in the way-back-bottom of our fridge. Dis-gusting. My Sherlockian suspicions believed this gnarly fur to have grown from a large maple spill that, when I discovered it, had become an intractable, crystalline shellac. When did that happen? I unloaded everything, shelf by shelf, and decided to spin the left turn to nowhere into a positive: how old was that teriyaki sauce? What was that now-gelatinous blob?

After a half-hour, I'd had no luck removing anything but the Styrofoam inserts I think were meant to be permanent. My pink, 1950s-housewife gloves got a hell of a workout, as did an array of toothbrushes, sponges, scrubby brushes and cleaners. I even called in the A-team troop known as bleach and later decided to move on to the freezer just because I'm that girl.

Later glad was I when, having thrown out all things freezer-burned or unrecognizable, I was left with sour cherries, currants and biscuits. Hence this dessert which I will most definitely replicate, purposefully, in the future. Lemons into lemonade, y'all.

Incredible kindness

Y'all must read about this incredible kindness. The back story: You might recall that a few days ago, yet another neighbor found Percy and returned him to us. This guy, a young man, maybe early 20s, mentioned that he takes care of two dogs in the neighborhood and if ever I needed help with Percy I should let him know because he and his brother have just started a dog-walking business to make some extra money.

Today, home with a sick Ol and trying to get the house clean and ready for my sister, brother-in-law and nephew -LAMBY!- to arrive tomorrow, I felt like I'd treat myself and call on this guy. As a stay-at-home mom, I've never considered hiring a dog-walker because it seems wildly extravagant. I have my two legs and bought Percy, for the love. But, as I did two years ago when Tom was out of town, it snowed to beat sixty, the kids were home and I was sick, I considered that treating myself, helping myself, is sometimes the best thing to do. On that day, I said "Yes!" to the guys who came around offering to shovel my steps (though I did negotiate a better deal!). Today, I called Jose.

His brother came, walked Percy for twenty minutes and then refused even a dime. This guy doesn't know me from Adam, walked over in the middle of his day to take a small job, and then simply said, "It really was my pleasure to help you. Your son is sick and I just ate at Chipotle. It works for all of us."

I tried to pay him again, he refused again, and I then decided to simply accept the very sincere kindness he was offering. Really, that's the best return sometimes, to just accept grace with equal grace. I mean, how good do you sometimes feel doing something for someone else just because?

My dear friend, M, brought J home from school and walked him to the door just to check on us all. My heart is full right now. Thank you!